These Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies are great to make for Valentine’s Day. Plus, they’re incredibly easy, super cute and only take 6 ingredients.
I love to make fun and delicious cookies that everyone can enjoy. They don’t have to be hard. Try my easy Butterfinger Bites and Cherry Chip Cookies with Cake Mix
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Why this Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies Recipe is a Keeper
This strawberry cookies from cake mix recipe is easy, quick and perfect for Valentine’s Day. Even my pickiest eaters will like this strawberry flavor treat.
- The “Box” Magic: These cookies are made using a cake mix eliminates the need for measuring flour, sugar, or leavening agents, making it virtually fail-proof.
- Texture: These cookies are famous for their “crackle” top and a fudgy, brownie-like interior that stays soft for days. These cookies turn out great every time.
- Pink Cookies: The natural pink of the strawberry mix makes them the perfect easy cookie for Valentine’s Day, baby showers, or spring brunches without needing messy food coloring.
Why Did my Cookies Spread Into One Giant Flat Sheet?
There are a few reasons why cookies can spread too much. If the oven is too warm, the dough is too warm or if there’s too much butter in the dough, cookies can spread way too much.
Pro Tip for Cake Mix Flavor Cookies
The Bread Trick: If you live in a dry climate, place a single slice of white bread in the container with the cookies. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread, keeping them fudgy for longer.
Ingredient Needed for Strawberry Cookies
You only need a few simple ingredients to make cake mix cookies recipes and most are pantry staples!
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Box of Cake Mix: Use a gluten-free yellow cake mix to make these delicious cookies.
- Cream Cheese & Butter: Instead of adding vegetable oil to the cake mix, you will need softened butter and cream cheese.
- White Chocolate Chips: White chocolate chips or melting wafers will work for the white chocolate drizzle on top. You could also use dark chocolate chips instead.
Variations and Substitutions for Easy Strawberry Cookies
This recipe is super easy to customize to make it your own. I like to experiment with different ingredients and different flavors.
- Cake Mix Flavors: Use a box of strawberry cake mix or red velvet cake mix to make these 4-ingredient strawberry cake mix cookies. You could also use a vanilla cake mix.
- Strawberry Lemonade: Add a teaspoon of lemon zest and a tablespoon of lemon juice to the dough. Top with a simple glaze and sanding sugar.
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry: Fold in 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or drizzle melted milk chocolate over the cooled cookies instead of white chocolate chips.
- Cheesecake Style: Stuff a small cube of cold sweetened cream cheese into the center of the dough ball before baking.
Special Equipment Needed for This Easy Dessert
While most of this recipe uses everyday kitchen tools, a few items make it even easier.
- Small Cookie Scoop: Because this dough is stickier than traditional cookie dough, a scoop keeps your portions even and your hands clean.
- Silicone Baking Mat: These cookies have a high sugar content; a silicone mat or parchment paper prevents the bottoms from sticking or browning too quickly.
How to Make Strawberry Mix Cookies
These soft strawberry cake mix cookies with white chocolate chips are so good and come together in just 3 quick and easy steps.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Make Dough Balls: Use a hand mixer to combine the cake mix, jello, butter, cream cheese and egg in a mixing bowl. Then, scoop about a Tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and gently flatten.
- Bake and Cool: Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Shape into perfect circles as soon as they come out of the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add Chocolate Drizzle: Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring well every 30 seconds. Pour into a sandwich bag, snip off a small corner, and drizzle onto the cooled cookies.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for Box Cake Mix Cookies
Preparing the easiest cookies ahead of time can be the best way to go to be able to enjoy them whenever.
- Prep Ahead: You can scoop the dough balls and freeze them on a lined baking sheet. Once solid, toss them into a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, just add 1–2 minutes to the timer.
Alternate Cooking Methods
Turn this recipe into air fryer cookies or into cookie bars. These cookies are super versatile. You can make sandwich cookies or even mini cookies.
- The Air Fryer: You can bake 3-4 cookies at a time at 160°C (325°F) for about 6-7 minutes. It’s perfect when you just want a quick snack without heating up the whole house. Let cookies cool before serving.
- Cookie Bars: Instead of scooping individual cookies, press the entire batch of dough into an greased cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f and bake for 20-25 minutes for “Strawberry Blondies”. When cool, top with strawberry cool whip.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftovers
- Storing: Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will stay soft for 4-5 days.
- How to Freeze: Let the cookies cool completely, then wrap them in plastic wrap (optional, but prevents freezer burn) and place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag. They will last for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: If you have a larger batch that has gone slightly stale, place them on a baking sheet in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 2-3 minutes. This will soften the fats and revive the fluffy cookies.
- Use Leftovers: Soften some vanilla or strawberry ice cream, place a scoop between two cookies, and press down. Wrap in ice cream sandwich cookies in plastic and freeze for a perfect summer treat.
- Cookie Crust: Pulse the leftover (dry) cookies in a food processor with a little melted butter. Press the mixture into a pie tin for a strawberry cookie crust for a cheesecake or chocolate silk pie.
Common Recipe FAQS
This dough is much stickier than regular cookie dough. If you find that it’s way too sticky, you can add a little flour to help.
Roll the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar before baking to get that beautiful high-contrast cracked effect.
It does not matter if you use Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix or Duncan Hines cake mix, it’s just personal preference. You could even try to use Pillsbury strawberry cake mix.
Expert Tips for Making Strawberry Cake Cookies
- Don’t Overbake: The best strawberry cookies will look slightly “undone” or wet in the center when the timer goes off. Take them out anyway. They will firm up on the hot baking sheet as they cool. Overbaking leads to a dry, bready texture.
- Add an Extra Egg for “Cakier” Results: Most easy recipes call for 2 eggs for a chewy cookie. If you want a fluffier, more cake-like bite, add a third egg.
- Use High-Quality Extract: A half-teaspoon of pure vanilla extract helps mask the “boxed” flavor and makes them taste homemade.
- Cooling is Key: Let them rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. They are very delicate while hot, and will firm up as they cool.
- Serve With: Serve with Valentine Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies, Valentine Meringue Cookies or Red Velvet Chex Muddy Recipe.
More Recipes You Might Like
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Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
Equipment
- Round Cookie Cutter
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Ingredients
- 17 ounces Yellow gluten free cake mix, 1 box
- 3 ounces Strawberry Jello, 1 box
- ½ cup Butter, softened
- 4 ounces Cream cheese, softened
- 1 large Egg
- 1 cup White chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350℉.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, strawberry jello mix, softened butter, softened cream cheese and egg. Use a hand-mixer on medium speed to mix combined.
- Use a Tablespoon to scoop the dough and roll into balls. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand or the bottom of a flat glass to gently flatten the dough balls.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.
- To create a perfect circle shape for your cookies, immediately after baking, use the circular ring of a mason jar lid, a circular cookie cutter, or the rim of a large glass and place over the top of each cookie. Move the object in a circular pattern around the cookie allowing it to gently touch the edges and reshape the cookie into a circle. This method only works when cookies are soft and fresh out of the oven.
- Once reshaped into circles, use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- To add the white chocolate drizzle to the cookies: Add white chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on 50% power until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Transfer melted white chocolate to a sandwich bag. Snip off a small corner of the bag and drizzle the white chocolate in a back and forth pattern over the top of each cookie.
Christina’s Notes
- Chill the dough for 20–30 minutes. Strawberry cake mix tends to be softer than vanilla or chocolate. A short chill firms the dough so the cookies hold their shape and bake up thicker instead of spreading thin.
- Use room‑temperature eggs: Cold eggs tighten the batter and create streaky dough. Room‑temp eggs blend smoothly with the oil, giving you that even, tender crumb your readers expect.
- Don’t overmix: Stir just until the dry pockets disappear. Overmixing activates the gluten and can make the cookies tough instead of soft and chewy.
- Scoop small for the best texture: Strawberry cake mix cookies bake more evenly when kept around 1½ tablespoons. Larger scoops can stay doughy in the center.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
I like the flavor and they turned out well. I didn’t see an oven temperature listed in the recipe so baked at 350 degrees F. and that worked.